(Author�s Note: The following used to be on Vendetta in the IF Board. However it did not work because the story was too much of a fanfic in itself and would not have been easy to connect to the main plot. So here I have compiled, rewritten and added onto the posts that were originally found in Vendetta. So without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen I introduce you to�)
The Coming Darkness
Book One of Three in The Legacy of Avarice
by
JamesPicard_007
Prologue
����������� The darkness had always been there. Soothing him. Comforting him. Bathing him in its enriching power. For millennia he had slept here. The darkness had protected him during his long rest. However something was stirring in his mind today.
����������� �Servant of the dark power. Do you still heed my call?� A voice asked.
����������� �Always and forever.� He replied.
����������� �The time has come. You shall be released and do my bidding.�
����������� �You have only but to ask and I shall see that it is done.�
����������� �It is time. My presence is needed within the world. There is one who can truly represent me.�
����������� �Can he be trusted after all this time?�
����������� �He has had
enough time to learn. Go now. Go to the city of
����������� �Yes. My master.�
���������� Suddenly he could feel himself moving. Rising higher and higher. As he rose from the darkness he felt a chill over him. This would be the first time in many years he would be separated from the warmth of darkness.
����������� Everything would be all right though. He had been called back into service. His master had given him a mission to restore the balance of darkness in the world. He would succeed at all costs. His chamber now rose onto the earth. It stopped with a deafening halt.
����������� The tumblers sealing the chamber twisted and hissed as they prepared to release their contents. The chamber opened, exposing itself to the naked day. The sun was immediately blinding. It had been years since he had seen daylight. Soon his eyes became accustomed to the sunlight.
����������� He walked onto the grassy plain. The warmth of day struck him and he was pleased. For soon this gentle warmth would be part of the darkness to come. The world itself would soon be part of the greater darkness. For he had arose to fulfill the wishes of his master. After millennia of imprisonment, Zarus had finally returned.
Twoson
�����������
����������� Paula awoke with a start. The nightmare had once again awoken her. She lifted her sheets of herself and walked to the bathroom. Inside she turned on the faucet and splashed water onto her face. After splashing herself several times, Paula turned the water off and wiped her face with a towel.
����������� When she looked into the mirror a pair of vacant, red eyes stared back at her. The nightmare had always disturbed her sleep. It began several weeks ago. A vision of a terrible future. An ancient evil rising to conquer the modern world in a new darkness.
����������� A bright
red ruby that constantly shone through the sheet of darkness.
����������� She was used to visions of forthcoming darkness. After her last adventure she was used to this. She had accepted her position as a Protector of Earth. This was her destiny and nothing could change that. But the future was always uncertain.
����������� Most of the nightmare had not scared her. One part did. In the past she had always been able to see the future clearly. To her the visions she saw were always certain. However in the nightmare there was one part that was not clear.
����������� A man had appeared in the nightmare. Who he was, Paula could not see. The mere fact that he had appeared in the nightmare meant he had a part to play. This man was an integral part of the future that was to be. However whenever he appeared in the dream the vision grew cloudy.
����������� As if that part could not be determined as certainty. An uncertain future in which anything could happen. If this man clouded the future than he needed to be found immediately. For this is what scared Paula the most. A future where darkness could rule because of the folly of one man. ��